Fireplace with warming shelf

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a fireplace having a warming shelf, suitable for warming beverages, such as coffee, tea or hot cocoa; food items; and other items, for example, clothing, such as mittens or socks.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a fireplace. In particular, theinvention relates to a gas fireplace with a warming shelf.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Fireplaces, including gas fireplaces are well known. Generally,fireplaces are used for heating a room and for ambiance. However, it maybe desirable to use a fireplace to warm other items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The invention provides a fireplace having a warming shelfsuitable for warming beverages, such as coffee, tea or hot cocoa; fooditems; and other items, for example, clothing, such as mittens or socks.

[0004] The fireplace generally includes a firebox, a front wall and ashelf. The front wall is mounted to the firebox to define a combustionchamber. Preferably the interface between the front wall and the fireboxis substantially airtight. More preferably, the front wall is made usinga transparent material such as glass or heat resistant plastic. Thefireplace also includes a shelf that is pivotally mounted to the frontwall about a horizontal axis. Preferably, the shelf is made using atransparent material such as glass or heat resistant plastic. The shelfpreferably rotates from between a closed position, in which the shelf isadjacent and substantially parallel to the front wall to an openposition, in which the shelf is substantially perpendicular to the frontwall. Even when the shelf is in an open position, the combustionchamber, defined by the front wall and the firebox remains inaccessiblefrom behind the shelf, due to the presence of the front wall. The openshelf provides a suitable horizontal surface for placing items to bewarmed, such as beverages, food, or clothing. In a preferred embodiment,the fireplace also includes doors that are pivotally mounted to thefireplace about a vertical axis. Preferably, the doors are positionedbelow the shelf. In this embodiment, the shelf and doors can be openedto create a semi-enclosed space which is capable of trapping heatgenerated by the fireplace to further warm the shelf and any itemsplaced thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005]FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a fireplace embodying thepresent invention.

[0006]FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the fireplace in FIG. 1 insection taken along the line 2-2.

[0007]FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of the fireplace taken along theline 3-3 in FIG. 2.

[0008]FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the fireplace with a door open.

[0009]FIG. 5 is a top view of the fireplace shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersrefer to like parts, the fireplace 50 of the invention is shown inFIG. 1. The fireplace 50 includes three major parts, namely a firebox10; a front wall 11; and a shelf 12.

[0011] The firebox 10 includes side walls 15 and 16, a rear wall 17, atop 18, a front 20 and a back 21. The top 18 of the firebox 10 shown inFIG. 1 is configured as a half-dome. However, the top 18 can be createdin any desirable configuration. For example, in an alternate embodiment(not shown), the top 18 of the firebox 10 can be formed by planar wallsthat slope downward from the front 20 of the firebox 10 and mate at theback 21 of the firebox 10 or planar walls that slope upward from thefront of the firebox 10 and mate at the back 21 of the firebox. In yetanother embodiment, the top 18 of the firebox 10 may be constructed in ahorizontal position. Other configurations for the top 18 of the firebox10 are readily apparent to those of skill in the art and are includedwithin the scope of the invention.

[0012] A front wall 11 is mounted to the front 20 of the firebox 10.Preferably, the front wall 11 is formed from a heat resistanttransparent material such as glass or heat resistant plastic. Morepreferably, the front wall 11 is mounted to the firebox 10 such that theinterface between the front wall 11 and the firebox is airtight orsemi-airtight to prevent air loss from the room. If the interfacebetween the firebox 10 and the front wall 11 is not substantiallyairtight, combustion air taken from the room may reduce the amount ofoxygen in the room if the room is tightly sealed or, alternately, maycreate a partial vacuum which takes in cold air or air from other partsof the building into the room to be heated, thus cooling the room to beheated. In one embodiment, the glass front wall 11 is capable of beingremoved from the firebox 10 or opened to provide access to the firebox10. The front wall 11 can be planar (as shown in the Figures) ornon-planar (not shown). For example, the front wall 11 may be configuredas a non-planar outwardly curved glass panel (not shown). Otherconfigurations include non-planar glass panels having two or more flatsections (not shown). Other configurations are readily apparent to thoseof skill in the art and are included within the scope of this invention.

[0013] The firebox 10 and front wall 11 define a combustion chamber 30.A burner assembly (not shown) is located within the combustion chamber30. Fresh air is delivered to the combustion chamber 30 by way of an airinlet vent (not shown). Exhaust gasses from the combustion chamber 30pass out of the firebox 10 by way of an exhaust vent 14.

[0014] According to the invention, the fireplace 50 includes a shelf 12mounted to the front wall 11. In a preferred embodiment, the shelf 12 isrotatably mounted to the front wall 11. Preferably, the shelf 12 isrotatably mounted to the front wall 11 about a horizontal axis. Forexample, the shelf 12 can be mounted to the front wall 11 using at leastone hinge such that the shelf can occupy an “open” position wherein theshelf 12 is positioned horizontally such that it is substantiallyperpendicular (at about 90°) to the front wall 11 (for example, seeFIGS. 2-5). Preferably the shelf 12 is configured to rotate to occupy a“closed” position wherein the shelf 12 is aligned adjacent to the frontwall 11 in a position substantially parallel to the front wall 11 or todefine a plane that is substantially parallel to the plane defined bythe front wall 11 (not shown). Generally, the shelf 12 is configured toalign with the contours of the front wall 11. The shelf 12 can beconfigured such that it is rotated “down” to its open position (i.e.,horizontal or perpendicular to the front wall 11) and rotated “up” to aclosed position (i.e., oriented vertically or parallel to the front wall11). Alternately, the shelf 12 can be configured such that it is rotated“up” to an open position and rotated “down” to a closed position.Preferably, a locking means is included to secure the shelf 12 in anopen position. It may also be desirable to include a second lockingmeans to secure the shelf 12 in a closed position. It should be notedthat a shelf that is not hinged and therefore only occupies an “open”position is also included within the scope of the invention.

[0015] It should be noted that, when the shelf 12 is in an openposition, the front wall 11 of the fireplace 50 maintains a barrierbetween the firebox 10 and the room such that the combustion chamber 30remains enclosed. As discussed above, it is important that the interfaceof the front wall 11 and the firebox 10 be airtight or semi-airtight andthe combustion chamber remain enclosed to prevent oxygen or heat lossfrom the room in which the fireplace 50 is situated. Thus, “opening” theshelf 12 merely provides an illusion of accessing the firebox 10, whenin reality, the combustion chamber 30 remains enclosed. The shelf 12functions essentially as a “false door” such that “opening” the shelf 12does not actually open an enclosure. Rather, “opening” the shelf 12merely exposes the front wall 11 that is positioned interior to theshelf 12. Thus, “opening” the shelf 12 does not “open” an enclosure.Rather, “opening” the shelf 12 provides access to the substantiallyvertical front wall 11.

[0016] The open shelf 12 provides a suitable horizontal surface forplacing items to be warmed, for example, beverages, food, or other itemssuch as clothing. Preferably, the shelf 12 is made of a transparentmaterial, for example, glass or heat resistant plastic, such that thecombustion chamber 30 or firebox 10 is visible when the shelf 12 is in a“closed” position.

[0017] The fireplace 50 may optionally include doors 13, positionedparallel and adjacent to the front wall 11 on the opposite side of thefront wall 11 as the firebox 10. Preferably, the doors 13 are mounted tothe fireplace 50 at a position below the shelf 12. Preferably, the doors13 are formed from a transparent material such as glass or heatresistant plastic such that the combustion chamber 30 is visible whenthe doors are in a closed position. Many configurations for fireplacedoors are known in the art. For example, the doors 13 may include asingle panel or a plurality of panels encased within a frame 22.Conventional frames 22 used for fireplace doors are suitable.Preferably, the doors 13 can be opened and closed. The opening andclosing of fireplace doors is conventional in the art. When the doors 13are in their closed position, they are aligned adjacent to the frontwall 11. Thus, if the front wall 11 is planar, the doors 13, in a closedposition, preferably define a plane that is parallel to the planedefined by the front wall 11. If the front wall 11 is curved outwardly,the doors 13 preferably follow the contours of the front wall 11.However, it is also conceivable that the front wall 11 may be planar,and the doors 13 may have a different configuration. For example thedoors 13 may be curved outwardly. The doors 13 can be maintained intheir closed position by conventional means, such as spring clips ormagnetic plates. The doors 13 can also be put in an open position, forexample, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As discussed in connection with theshelf 12 above, the glass doors 13 merely appear to provide access tothe combustion chamber 30. In reality, even when the glass doors 13 arein an open position, the combustion chamber 30 remains inaccessible frombehind the doors 13 due to the presence of the front wall 11 which liesbetween the glass doors 13 and the combustion chamber.

[0018] Preferably, the glass doors are mounted to the front wall 11 orthe side walls 15 and 16 of the firebox 10 around a vertical axis suchthat, when the doors 13 and the shelf 12 are in an open position, thedoors 13 are oriented perpendicular to the shelf 13. With such anarrangement, it may be desirable to place the fireplace doors 13 in anopen position in connection with securing the shelf 12 in an openposition to create a semi-enclosed space which is capable of trappingheat generated by the fireplace to further warm the shelf 12 and anyitems placed thereon.

[0019] The foregoing description has been presented with respect to agas fireplace shown in the accompanying figures. It will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that many other modifications of thestructures, including size, shape and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, it is understoodthat the fireplace may include additional features and accessories.Furthermore, although the invention is discussed primarily with respectto a gas fireplace, the concept is readily applied to conventional woodburning fireplaces. Accordingly, the present invention is not meant tobe limited to the particular embodiments described above. Rather, thescope of the invention is meant to be defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fireplace comprising: (a) a firebox; (b) afront wall fastened to the firebox wherein the firebox and front walldefine a combustion chamber; and (c) a shelf pivotally mounted to thefront wall about a horizontal axis.
 2. The fireplace according to claim1 wherein the shelf is configured to pivot between a closed position,wherein the shelf is positioned adjacent to the front wall in asubstantially parallel plane and an open position, wherein the shelf ispositioned substantially perpendicular to the front wall.
 3. Thefireplace according to claim 2 wherein the combustion chamber remainsenclosed by the front wall and firebox when the shelf is in an openposition.
 4. The fireplace according to claim 1 further comprising doorspivotally mounted to the front wall about a vertical axis.
 5. Thefireplace according to claim 1 further comprising doors pivotallymounted to the firebox about a vertical axis.
 6. The fireplace accordingto claim 1 wherein the front wall is fastened to the firebox to form asubstantially airtight seal.